Lawfulness of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is prohibited in the home. Article 4 of Law 3500/2006 on the Combating of Intra-family Violence, in force from 24 January 2007, states: “Physical violence against children as a disciplinary measure in the context of their upbringing brings the consequences of Article 1532 of the Civil Code.” Article 1532 of the Civil Code provides for various consequences for abuse of parental authority, the most serious being the removal of parental authority by the courts. The prohibition follows a finding in 2005 by the European Committee of Social Rights under the Collective Complaints procedure of the European Social Charter that Greece was in violation of article 17 of the Charter because of the absence of explicit prohibition in law of corporal punishment of children within the family, in secondary schools and in other institutions and forms of childcare (Resolution ResChS(2005)12, Collective complaint No. 17/2003 by the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) against Greece, adopted by the Council of Ministers on 8 June 2005).

A press release announcing the prohibition, issued by the Greek Ombudsman (Department of Children’s Rights) on 1 November 2006, noted that the Network was disappointed that the new law does not specifically use the term “corporal punishment”, but is satisfied that the more general term “physical violence” is intended to include corporal punishment by the explanatory report issued to Parliament by Ministers responsible for the introduction of the bill which stated that “by the provision of article 4 (of the bill) it is made clear that the corporal punishment of children is not included in the permissible disciplinary measure of article 1518 of the Civil Code”. (Article 1518 of the Civil Code enshrines parents’ right to use “corrective measures” but “only if these are necessary from a pedagogic point of view and do not affect the child’s dignity”.)

Schools

Corporal punishment is prohibited in schools. Section 13 (8c) of Presidential Decree No. 201/1998 on the organisation and functioning of Primary schools states: “Corporal punishment is not permitted.” Section 27 of Presidential Decree No. 104/1979 on secondary education does not include corporal punishment among permissible sanctions against students. Following the decision of the European Committee of Social Rights under the Collective Complaints procedure (see above), legislation was introduced to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in secondary schools (article 21 of Law No. 3328/2005).

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime and as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions. It is not a permitted sanction under the Criminal Code (articles 121-133) or the Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 7 of the Constitution applies (see above).

Alternative care

Corporal punishment was prohibited in residential institutions by article 23 of the Ministerial Decision G2b/OK/8291 (1984), “Regulation of operation of state residential institutions for children”, and in day care institutions and nursery schools by article 14 of Ministerial Decision P2b (1997), “Standard regulation of operation of municipal day care institutions and nursery schools”. On 15 December 2004, the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity issued a circular addressed to all institutions and forms of care for children, stipulating that any form of corporal punishment against children in these institutions is prohibited. Law 3500/2006 on the Combating of Intra-family Violence prohibiting corporal punishment in childrearing (see above) applies.

Workplace

Corporal punishment is prohibited.

Prevalence research

A 1993 study found that of 8,158 children aged 7 years, one in three (37.7%) was spanked at least once a week and one in six daily (18%). (Agathonos-Georgopoulou, H., 1997, “Child Maltreatment in Greece: A Review of Research”, Child Abuse Review, vol. 6, pp.257-271)

Research carried out between 1994 and 1997 at the Department of Family Relations in the Institute of Child Health in Athens, involving 591 structured interviews with mothers of 6 year-old and 12 year-old schoolchildren, revealed that 65.5% of mothers used physical punishment to discipline their children, with mothers of 6 year-olds three times more likely to use such punishment than mothers of 12 year-olds. 62% of mothers believed that physical punishment is used by most parents, and 82% believed that at least half of all parents hit their children. Of those children physically punished, 4% suffered minor injuries and 1.2% suffered injuries needing stitches and/or hospitalisation. (Fereti, I. & Stavrianki, M., 1997, “The use of physical punishment in the Greek family: selected socio-demographic aspects”, International Journal of Child and Family Welfare, vol. 3, pp.206-216; Fereti, I., 2002, “Initiatives to reduce and prevent corporal punishment of children within the family in Greece”, Athens: Institute of Child Health)

In 1996, interviews with 423 police officers (including 208 who were parents) about their childhood experiences, attitudes and parental practices regarding corporal punishment, found that one in two reported receiving corporal punishment as children. Two in three believed that “sometimes hitting is needed” to discipline a child, and 64% reported using corporal punishment to discipline their own children. (Maragos, Agathonos-Georgakopoulou & Nova, 1997. Cited in Halkias, D. et al., 2001, “Conducting a cross cultural study of corporal punishment: The Greek researcher’s perspective”, paper presented at the National Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA, August 2001)

In 1998, a nationwide survey looked in part at the frequency and types of corporal punishment in families. Of the 417 parents with at least one child enrolled in daycare answering the question on parenting practices, 85.36% reported using corporal punishment “when necessary” but not daily. (Damianaki et al., 1998. Cited in Halkias, D. et al., 2001, “Conducting a cross cultural study of corporal punishment: The Greek researcher’s perspective”, paper presented at the National Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA, August 2001)

As part of a large scale study initiated by researchers from the National Center for the Study of Corporal Punishment and Alternatives (NCSCPA), a questionnaire was administered to 546 university students in Athens and Thessalonili, of which 73% recalled receiving corporal punishment at home. The most common types of corporal punishment were recalled as spanking on the buttocks with an open hand (54%), smacking or slapping on the hand, arm or leg (45%) and smacking or slapping on the face, head or ears (31%). Other types included hair pulling (17%), hitting with an object (17%), pinching (9%), shaking (9%), arm twisting (6%) and whipping (3%). (Halkias, D. et al., 2001, “Conducting a cross cultural study of corporal punishment: The Greek researcher’s perspective”, paper presented at the National Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA, August 2001)

A study in 1979 found that 82.4% of mothers admitted punishing their children, with many using more than one method of punishment, including 49.3% who used physical punishment and other forms of violence. (Zarnari, 1979. Cited in Halkias, D. et al., 2001, “Conducting a cross cultural study of corporal punishment: The Greek researcher’s perspective”, paper presented at the National Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA, August 2001)

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee is concerned that:

a) as indicated in the State party’s report, about 60 per cent of parents practice corporal punishment of children;

b) although corporal punishment is prohibited by law in schools, it is not prohibited in the family.

“The Committee recommends that the State party:

1. prohibit all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment, by law in all contexts, including in the family;
2. undertake education and awareness campaigns to inform, among others, teachers, parents and medical and law enforcement personnel about the harm of violence, including corporal punishment, and about alternative, non-violent, forms of educating children.”

(1 Feb 2002, CRC/C/15/Add.170, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 42 (a and b) and 43 (a and b))

Human Rights Committee

“While noting that a legislative amendment to ban corporal punishment in secondary schools has been tabled in Parliament, the Committee is concerned at reports of a widespread practice of corporal punishment of children in the schools (art. 24).

The Committee recommends that the State party prohibit all forms of violence against children wherever it occurs, including corporal punishment in the schools, and undertake public information efforts with respect to appropriate protection of children from violence.”
(25 April 2005, CCPR/CO/83/GRC, Concluding observations on initial report, para. 16)

European Committee of Social Rights

“The Committee recalls that Article 17 requires a prohibition in legislation against any form of violence against children, whether at school, in other institutions, in their home or elsewhere. It considers that this prohibition in legislation must be combined with adequate sanctions in penal or civil law.

“The Committee notes that by Presidential Degree 201/98 corporal punishment is prohibited in primary schools. However, the Committee notes from the information in the report that there is no prohibition in legislation of all corporal punishment of children, in the home, in secondary schools and in other institutions. The Committee therefore finds that the situation in Greece is not in conformity with Article 17 of the Charter.

“In this regard, the Committee refers to its decision on the merits in the World Organisation against Torture (‘OMCT’) v. Greece case (Collective Complaint No. 17/2003, decision on the merits, 7 December 2004) in which it found that Greece was in violation of Article 17 of the Charter since there was no prohibition in legislation of all forms of corporal punishment of children, within the family, in secondary schools and in other institutions and forms of care. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Delegation of Greece at its 924^th meeting (20 April 2005) of the Ministers’ Deputies. As regards the first ground of the violation, the Committee takes note of the establishment within the Ministry of Justice of a special drafting Commission charged with elaborating a draft law on the prohibition of all forms of corporal punishment within the family. As regards the second ground of the violation, it takes note of the adoption of Law No. 3328/2005 in which article 21 explicitly prohibits corporal punishment of students in secondary schools. As regards the third ground of the violation, it takes note of the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity’s decision to proceed towards a harmonisation of the legislation in force in order to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in all institutions and forms of care for children. The Committee asks for the next report to supply all information on the measures announced with regard to the prohibition of corporal punishment within the family and in all institutions and forms of care for children in order to make a full assessment of the situation for the next reference period.

…

“The Committee concludes that the situation in Greece is not in conformity with Article 17 of the Charter on the ground that there is no prohibition in legislation of all corporal punishment of children:

• in the home,
• in secondary schools during the reference period, and
• in other institutions….”

 (July 2005, Conclusions XVII-2)

“The Committee wishes to know whether legislation prohibits all forms of corporal punishment of children, in schools, in institutions, in the home and elsewhere….”
(1 January 2001, Conclusions XV-2 vol. 1, pages 257-258)